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by rane_ne



Category: Dragalia Lost (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Character Story, Character Study, Gen, Snippet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 16:55:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17063510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rane_ne/pseuds/rane_ne
Summary: At the base of an 800-year-old ash rested the soul of a man named Mikoto.





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**Author's Note:**

> Small tribute dedicated to one of my favorite samurais. Find your humanity again, Mikoto. 
> 
> Completed: 12/18/18 (8:19 PM). Can be edited.

At the base of an 800-year-old ash rested the soul of a man named Mikoto.

His eyes were closed in eternal slumber and his palms were faced upward in his lap, opened wide as if to welcome the mountainous burden that would soon be etched upon his mortal body. His hair, once a beautiful sheen of pure ebony, was now dyed the empty shell of white.

Inside him still beat a heart, but one that was ever so steadily fading. 

Beside him, curled up in a tight ball, was the small figure of a midnight black cat. The creature had breathed its last breath several days ago and now slept as soundly as the day he was found by the man, near a pile of waste on the side of a bustling street, appearing at peace with the world around him despite the hardships that had ultimately caused his demise.

Wind stirred strands of hair around Mikoto's shoulders as darkness fell upon the forest.

The breeze was warm. 

It reminded him of the lulling, quiet days spent under the shade of a makeshift shelter with Mineuchi lazing next to him, both serenely watching water stream over scores of rocks, birds humming lightly in the background as morning turned into dusk and the brief moment of respite lingered long past bedtime. It filled him with a nostalgia that simultaneously left something deeply bitter in his chest.

Soon, life would be completely vanquished from his world and all would be revealed.

He had spent countless years searching for this  _truth_  and, now, the answer was mere seconds away from his grasp. 

No deity descended from the sky to lift him through the clouds into a citadel of light and sparkling grandeur. No divinity, heralded straight from the gates of Heaven, leaned forth to whisper the secrets of the universe into his ears and grant him unconditional power. Instead, he felt an intrusive presence enter his body and encapsulate his entire being with forceful possession. 

In that single unending moment of darkness, he heard not a voice but rather  _sensed_  the entity.

_"Is this what you truly desire, mortal? Is this revelation what you truly seek?"_

He didn't hesitate.  _Yes._

Something sharp tugged at the life force within his body.

He suddenly felt cold.

_"So be it, Warrior Mikoto."_

The warm, comforting breeze had long ceased and in its place was a vast, boundless emptiness. An emptiness as sure as the entity's low, cruel laughter, echoing like a mantra throughout his head as, finally, It departed, leaving nothing behind but a lifeless vessel.

_"This is the truth you so greatly wished to know."_

He had not moved an inch for the past 3 years and from this moment onward he would never again move with limbs of his own. 

* * *

 

When Mikoto opened his eyes, blood streamed out from within their hollow depths to stain his irises a rich, deep red. Raw power coursed through every fiber of his being, yet his body was numb as he slowly rose to his feet. For the slightest of seconds, he thought he felt a familiar presence tickling his skin, soft fur brushing against his bare foot, but as suddenly as it had arrived the sensation vanished just as swiftly, gone like the gentle press of wind. When he glanced around the forest, he found himself alone in the dark. 

Only one word escaped from his lips, voice monotone and eyes dull, rising no longer as a man but as an avatar of nature --  _"Mineuchi."_  
  



End file.
